Truck



(No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet l.

G. E. BOURELL.

TRUCK.

Patented Jan. 12. 1892.

ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. E. BOUBELL.

TRUCK.

No. 466,899. Patented Jan. 12, 1892.

llVl/E/VTOI? ATTORNEY.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. BOURELL, OF GRANT, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TQ MARY K. BOURELL, OF'BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,899, dated January12, 1892.

Application filed April 7, 1891- Serial No. 387,990. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BOURELL, of Grant, in the county ofPerkins and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and use f 111Improvements in Trucks; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersand figures of reference marked thereon, which form part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in trucks, and moreparticularly to an improved combined truck and step-ladder.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved truck exceedinglycheap, simple, and durable in construction, and whereby barrels, boxes,&c., can be easily and quickly picked up or dropped and conveyed to anyplace without requiring any great expenditure of strength and withoutrequiring the operator to lift the load or necessarily require him toput his hands upon. the article to be lifted, and whereby a number ofarticles can be carried at the same time.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved combinedtruck and stepladder exceedingly simple and cheap in construction, whichcan be readily converted from truck to step-ladder, and which will be ofthe utmost strength in either adjustment.

These and other objects are accomplished a by and this inventionconsists in certainnovel features of construction and in combinations ofparts more fully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation ofthe truck carrying the barrel. Fig.2 is a persective showing truckadjusted for use as a step-ladder. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional anddetail views of parts. Fig. 5 is a perspective with box on truck. Fig. 6is a detail plan of box infolded.

In the drawings, a a indicate the main side beams or sills of the truck,throughout their length connected rigidly and securely together bycross-bars b, at their lower end provided with the suitable shoe 0. Fromthe shoe these beams extend upwardly and rearwardly at a suitable angle,and at a joint about midway between their ends the beams extendrearwardly and horizontally,'as clearly shown, so that the upper portionof the truck is horizontal and the front portion extends downwardlytherefrom at an angle, say, of about forty-five degrees. The frontinclined portion is arranged to carry heavyboxes orbarrels. Hence thecross-bars 1) thereof are concave at their outer edges. Each side beamis suitably and strongly constructed at the angle formed by thesehorizontal and inclined portions of the truck, and a strong heavycross-bar e is located at the angle. At the rear ends of the side beamsanother heavy and strong cross-bar f is located and arranged so as toform the top step or rest of the stepladder. The rear ends of the sidebeams are provided with rearward and upward extensions 6, connected attheir upper ends by horizontal cross bar, forming a handle it, wherebythe truck is manipulated. When the truck is used as a ladder, thishandle h forms a hand-hold or support above the stepladder for a personupon the same, as is evident from Fig. 2.

A grab-hook is provided, whereby the barrels or boxes can be grasped andheld upon the truck during the loading or discharging operation; andthis hook consists of the long metal tube '6 at one end, hinged stronglyto the cross-bar f to swing vertically and having the hook j extendingthrough its open outer end and normally throughout its entire length.The shaft of this hook within the tube is notched at intervals, and theset-screw It extends through the tube to engage said notches, so thatthe length of the hook can be varied. The standard Z extends down fromthe strong cross-bar connecting side beams a at the angle, and the lowerend of this standard is provided with the caster m, provided with aWheel of suitable size. This standard extends downwardly and rearwardly,preferably at right angles to the front inclined portion of the truck,and is braced by suitable lateral braces Z, and is of such length as tohold the upper rear portion of the truckin a horizontal position. Ifdehis hands to it.

sired, two of these standards and wheels can be employed instead of one.However, it is preferable to use one standard only, with itsloosely-mounted caster-wheel, as the truck can be turned and guided moreeasily than where two are employed.

The step-ladder portion consists of the two parallel side beams 01,located beneath the side beams of the truck and secured together by thesteps 0 of the ladder. At their upper ends the step-ladder sides aresecured by hinges e to the under sides of the rear portion of the truckside beams, so that the truck and ladder beams can swing toward and fromeach other, and the lower ends of the truck beams rest directly upon theupper sides of the lower ends, and the under sides of the lower ends ofthe ladder-beams are provided with boxes, in which the shaft q, carryingfront truck-wheels 'r r, is mounted. A spring or other suitable catch 8is secured to one of the truck-beams and extends down and is adapted toengage a ladder-beam, so as to firmly hold the truck upon the ladder andprevent the same from springing or jumping up. The upper sides of thefront ends of the ladder-beams are provided with the plates t, havingstop or guide lugs s, the lower ends of the truck-beams resting on theseplates and said lugs holding the truck against lateral play. Astop-chain or other connection at is secured to the truck and ladder andlimits the distance apart that the truck-beams and ladder-beams canswing.

The device can be constructedof any suitable material, such as wood,gas-pipe, &c.

To operate the invention as a truck, take hold of the handle and raisethe truck thereby upwardly and forwardly until the shoe touches thefloor and the inclined portion of the truck stands up parallel with thebarrel or box; raise the hook-arm-and let the hook catch the chine ofthe barrel and at the same time push forward on the handle, so as totilt the box or barrel, and place thefoot on the axle, which throws theshoe under the box or barrel; then pull backward and downward on thehandle and the barrel or box is lifted and held upon the truck, thetruck resting on all three wheels. This operation is quickly and easilyperformed. The operator does not have to lift the load at all, nor needhe apply The truck can be easily and quickly wheeled-in any direction,requiringa minimum amount of strength. The barrel or box lies againstthe front inclined portion of thetruck in an inclined position and doesnot need-thehook to hold it in position, so the hook can be thrown upand back against the handle, and boxes or packages or other articlescan-be placedon the rear horizontal portion of the truck. The truck isof great strength and great support and can be exceedingly heavilyloaded by reason of the peculiar shape and construction and the equaldistribution of the weight upon the supporting parts, the shape of thetruck-beams being such that they are ladder.

tom 2 2, formed in one or more sections hinged trussed by the standardcarrying the casterwheel and theladder-beams. The box or barrel can beeasily discharged by raising the handle of the truck forwardly andupwardly and then, when the box or barrel is on the ground or floor in atilted position, withdraw the truck. Very little exertion is required tothus raise the truck and its load, because the greater portion of theweight of the load is on the front shoe, which is forward of the frontwheels. The truck can be converted into a ladder by raising the handleupwardly and forwardly until the shoe strikes the floor,

' then releasing the catch which holds the truck and ladder beamstogether, and swinging the ladder inward as far as the check-chain orconnection will allow it to go, the shoe and lower ends of theladder-beams resting on the floor. A step-ladder of the utmost strengthand rigidity is thus produced.-

When in position as a step-ladder, the easiest mode of restoring thetruck to its normal position is to take hold of handle and shove forwarduntil ladder swings clear of floor into place against truck-beams and isautomatically locked by the spring-catch, and then draw handle inwardlyand drop truck upon all of its wheels.

Fig. 5 shows the truck provided with a receptacle for carrying grain,or, in fact, almost anything-sand or earth, fertilizer, &c.and is ofgreat use around a farm, store, or other places, as the receptacle canbe readily removed and leaving the combined truck and This receptacleconsists of the bottogether so that it will lie on theinclined andhorizontal portions of the truck-beams,and also so that the bottom can.befolded when box or receptacle is removed. Triangularshaped sides 3 3are hinged to thesides of bottom section which lies on the inclinedfront, so that they will fold parallel, as shown in Fig. 5, against openfront 5, hinged to the lower edge of the inclined bottom section 2 toswing up and be secured against outer edges of sides 3 by suitablemeans,such as hooks and eyes, as shown, thereby forming-a V or hoppershaped receptacle, as shown, having open front provided withautomaticallyswinging door or dump end gate 6,. having a suitable catch7 at its lower edge, such as shown. By this means the'contents can beeasily and readily discharged. Sides 4 at are provided for the upperportion of the-receptacle and are hinged to rear section of bottom andextend along upper edge of sides 3 and secured thereto and to the sidesof truckbeams by pins 8 and loops or staples 9, and, if desirable,-byhooks and eyes. This box can be easily placed in operative position onthe truck or can be quickly taken therefrom, knocked down, and packed ina small compass. If desirable, the receptacle can be rigid, so a snot tofold.

It is evident that various changes might be made in the form,arrangement, and con- IIO struction of the parts herein describedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I donot wish to limit myself to the particular constructions herein setforth.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. In combination, the ladd er-section carrying front truck-wheels andhaving the plates with lugs upon the upper sides of the lower ends ofits beams and the truck-beams hinged to the ladder-section with theirlower ends resting upon said plates, and means to normally hold thetruck-beams upon the laddersection.

2. The combination of a truck having front .inclined and rearlongitudinal portions with receptacle formed to fit on said inclined andhorizontal portions of the truck and with the V-shaped receptacle havingend gate, and securing devices for removably securing receptacle ontruck.

3. The truck-beams formed angular to form the front inclined portion,having a shoe at its lower end, and the upper rear horizontal portion toreceive the box, 650., the handle or handles at the rear of saidhorizontal portion, the straight beams beneath and forming a truss forsaid inclined beams, front truckwheels, and an intermediatesupportingstandard, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination, the angular truck-beams having their outer endsextended and provided with a cross-bar to form a handle and having theiropposite ends provided with a shoe, the straight ladder-beams at theirouter ends hinged to the outer ends of the truckbeams so that theopposite ends of the truckbeams rest on the opposite ends of theladderbeams, the front truck-wheels, and the rigid inclined intermediatestandard extending from the central portion of the truck-beams andprovided with one or more wheels.

5. The truck inclined upwardly and rearwardly at its forward portion toreceive barrels and horizontally at its rear portion to re ceive boxes,($50., in combination with the straight beams upon which said truckrests, forming a truss therefor, and the truck-wheels, and intermediatesupportingstandard, all combined and arranged substantially as setforth.

6. In combination, the angular truck-beams forming the front inclinedportion and the rear horizontal portion, substantially as set forth,handles at the rear of said beams, the shoe at the lower ends of thetruck-beams, the swinging grab-hook to hold the barrels on the frontinclined portion, the intermediate rigid supporting-standard, and thestraight ladderbeams hinged at their rear ends to the rear ends of thetruck-beams and carrying the truck-wheels at the front ends,substantially as set forth.

'7. The combination,with the inclined beams of the truck, of theV-shaped receptacle detachably secured thereon and provided with thefront end gate.

8. The combination, with the angular beams of the truck, of theknockdown folding box formed to fit thereon, having the horizontal rearportion and the deep receptacle at the front portion'having an end gate,and means for detachably securing said box and truckbeams.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. BOURELL.

WVitnesses:

E. M. HARRISON, R. W. SAVAGE.

